“Yes, I am.” Delilah answered as her eyes skirted over to the guys. Once again, their total focus was on her. “The guys are too, but umm ... Rafe over there, he’s feeling a little lonely. You see, his ol’ lady dumped him because he isn’t very good in the sack.”
“Oh, really?” Sydney looked over at Rafe with pity in her eyes. “I would love to help him out with that.”
“Hold the fuck up,” Rafe fussed. “I don’t need any help. I’m actually pretty fucking phenomenal in bed, thank you very much.”
The guys busted out in laughter when Delilah leaned over to Rafe and teased, “Come on, Rafe. You wouldn’t want to let the girl down, now would ya?”
“Fuck y’all.” Rafe stood up and took Sydney by the hand, leading her towards the back. “I’ll show her. Just wait and see.”
Once they were gone, Delilah looked over to me and asked, “Did I go too far?”
“Ah, hell no. Rafe totally had that shit coming.” A pleased smile crossed her face when I told her, “You got him good.”
“I thought so too.”
Viper nudged me with his elbow as he said, “The girl’s got spunk. I like her. I think it’s safe to say we all do.”
“Good, ’cause I plan on her sticking around.”
Viper gave me a nod of approval, then ordered us all another round of drinks. We all continued talking. Delilah had finished off her second Long Island and was well on her way with the third, and it was clear by the way she was swaying in her seat that she was feeling pretty good. Since she was enjoying herself, I used the opportunity to check in with Menace. He’d been monitoring the sale of the new product, and I was eager to see how it was going. I leaned over to her as I said, “I need to see about something. You gonna be okay for a minute?”
“Sure.” She reached for her drink, taking a sip from the straw as she looked over to the stage, watching as one of the girls made her way over to the pole. Her words were slurred as she told me, “You know, these girls are real-leee tahhlented. I could never swing around on that thing like they can.”
“Hang tight, beautiful. I’ll be right back.”
I motioned over to Shotgun, telling him to keep an eye on Delilah, then headed up front to the office. When I walked in, Menace was busy counting cash. “How’s it going?”
“Better than expected. Looks like this shit is even better than what we were getting from Danny.”
“Viper said the same. Glad it’s paying off.”
“No doubt. So, how’s it going out there on your end?”
“Good. Decided to bring Delilah along.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.” I chuckled as I told him, “She’d never been to a strip club and wanted to see for herself what all the fuss was about.”
“And how’s she liking it?”
“Seems to be having a good time. The girls certainly seem to like her.”
Menace smirked. “I bet they do.”
Our attention was drawn over to the door when Zoe stuck her head in the doorway and asked, “Hey, Menace ...You got a minute?”
Zoe was one of our dancers. She was young with a kid, trying to do what she could to put food on the table, and Menace, apparently, had a soft spot for her. “Yeah, doll. Whatcha need?”
When she glanced over at me, I knew she wanted to talk to him alone, so I said, “I’m gonna head out, brother. I’ll see ya at the clubhouse in the morning.”
“See ya then.”
On my way out, I closed the door behind me and headed back to find Delilah. I hadn’t gotten very far when I felt someone tug at my arm. When I turned around, I was surprised to see that it was Lisa. I knew Viper had brought her over to get the bar up and running, but I thought it was only going to be for a few days. She stepped towards me, placing the palms of her hands on my chest with a seductive smile. “Hey there, handsome stranger. How have you been making it?”
“Good. Really good. How about yourself?”
“I’ve been doing okay. I was hoping that you’d change your mind and take me up on my offer. I’m free later tonight if you’re up for it.”
Just like the time before, I wasn’t interested in hooking up with her. Not now. Not ever. “Sorry, Lisa. That’s not gonna happen.”
“Oh come on, Hawk. It’s just one night.” She inched a little closer. “I’m sure we’d have ourselves a real good time. One to put in the books.”
Before I could respond, Delilah popped up at my side. She was having a little trouble keeping her footing, so she reached for my arm to keep herself from stumbling. I knew then that I shouldn’t have ordered her that third drink. It was more than evident that the alcohol had taken effect when Delilah leaned towards Lisa and slurred, “I’m sssorry to disappoint ya, sweetheart, but this one’s taken.”